Spelunking in Texas

As it turned out, I spent 1989 thoroughly obsessed with, among other book series, Pippi Longstocking. Thankfully, it is because of my Pippi interest I can now pinpoint the exact moment the term 'spelunking' was introduced into my vocabulary. However it wasn't until discovering the Inner Space Caves in Georgetown Saturday did I finally get to do it in person. As you can see, this event was years in the making.


We rode the cable car down a little track into the caves while learning about their history. Apparently the caverns were first discovered in 1963 during the construction of Interstate 35. They are estimated to be 90-100 million years old, formed by the carving of water through limestone, though they were not open to the public until the late '60s.


And we're in. We spent the next hour on an intense 'Adventure Tour' which we found out was one of the mildest tours available.
This one actually included a tour guide and a paved trail to follow, though if you are interested you can sign up for the tour that gives you a flashlight and lets you explore pitch black caverns by yourself.


Some of the things we saw....
Stalactites, stalagmites, who knew these geological terms would come in handy?


The most interesting thing to me was learning that there is a fault line (not pictured) that runs through the caverns and its activity is responsible for some of the amazing formations.


Cave drawings. Don't get your hopes up, they are not authentic.


L & M were pretty terrified of the experience until they saw a bat on the ceiling, at least 100 ft. away. That bat marked a turning point in our adventure and for the next hour the talk was all about bat houses, bat bathtubs, bat swimming pools, bat beds, Batman....


I had to throw this picture in because London is demonstrating the 'Davis scowl' which apparently runs pretty strongly in my family. I wouldn't know. :) However London did cry the whole way to the car because she wanted to look for more bats. A far cry from the girl at the beginning of the tour who only wanted to go home. I guess we'll have to make it back soon, though never again while pregnant. The humidity level was 98%! Thank goodness we came out alive, it really was an adventure.